Take this to Heart
by marycliZaire
Summary: Kurt Hummel is on Broadway. He hasn't seen or heard from any of the New Directions in years. After closing his first show, he runs into an old friend. Insisting that they get together and catch up, Rachel Berry invites Kurt to a bachelor auction for charity. He was wholly unprepared to meet Blaine Anderson.
1. Chapter 1

_When my baby smiles at me, I go to Rio_

_That's when I go to Rio_

_Rio- Rio De Janeir-eiro_

_Rio..Rio..RIo.._

Kurt let the final notes of _I Go to Rio_ ring out through the theatre. Not long after, he was taking his final bows as Peter Allen; he had just closed his first run on Broadway in a revival of _The Boy From Oz._

It didn't matter how he got here, because he was finally where he was meant to be. On stage, on _Broadway. _He made it.

_"I didn't get in," Kurt breathed._

_"Kurt, I'm so sorry," Rachel said, rushing over to pull her best friend into a hug._

_"I didn't get in," he repeated. "I was so sure I had nailed that audition. Carmen Tibideaux said I was a smash. I don't understand."_

_Finn cautiously walked over to the pair clinging to each other and reached a hand out to place on his brother's shoulder in comfort._

_"Oh, Kurt," Rachel whispered, tears flowing freely from her eyes now as she tightened her grip around his shoulders. "We'll figure something out, Kurt, I promise. This isn't the end."_

After watching the curtains close in the Imperial Theatre for a final time, Kurt found himself standing center stage, completely alone. He looked around at the set, replaying the entire show in his head. _Forget Carmen Tibideaux and her precious NYADA, _he thought, _I made it. _

He caught himself doing a little dance, resembling that of a teenage girl after receiving her first kiss, before managing to pull himself from the stage. He walked the short distance to his dressing room, where he promptly collapsed onto one of the remaining leather couches. He wasn't ready to leave, he wasn't ready to give this all up.

While still on the couch, Kurt looked around the room. He checked and double-checked that he wasn't leaving any of his personal belongings behind. He slowly pulled himself off the couch and began to undress quickly; wardrobe never took too long to come by and pick up each costume for cleaning. He hurriedly changed into clothes of his own; shimmying into dark jeans, pulling a cream-colored sweater over his head, lacing up his boots, tying a warm scarf around his neck, and slipping into his coat. He grabbed his phone and keys from the vanity, before heading to the stage door, he paused for a brief moment and took one last glance around the room.

When he slipped out the door, he had not expected to be bombarded with applause. There was a large gathering of people crowding around, apparently waiting on him. He answered countless questions from reporters, signed hundreds of Playbills and posters, collected a few bouqets of flowers, and even kissed one blushing little boy on the cheek after he asked for a picture. What seemed like an eternity later, Kurt said goodnight to his fans and climbed into the back of a big, black SUV waiting to take him home.

The first thing Kurt did when he returned home was pour himself a glass of red wine and drank it while submerged in a hot, bubble bath. After thoroughly relaxing himself, he climbed into bed with his cat, Malia, and quickly fell asleep.

It had been two days since _The Boy From Oz _closed, and Kurt was struggling to come down from his Broadway high. He had decided to treat himself to a little shopping spree in celebration.

Perusing the various racks of clothing, Kurt had his arms laden down with jackets and pants and scarves he knew he didn't need. It was as he was picking out a uniquiely-patterned shirt that he heard a very familiar, shrill voice.

"Kurt Hummel!" the voice called from ten feet away.

He tried to hide his face, turn and walk the other way, but he knew it was a lost cause; he had been spotted.

"Kurt Hummel, you turn around and talk to me right now!"

Kurt pivoted around and came face to face with a determined-looking Rachel Berry.

"Hi, Rachel," he greeted the petite brunette.

"_Kurt_," she nearly whispered, throwing her arms around his neck and pulling him into a tight squeeze.

_"Rachel," he snapped, his words laced with bitterness, "I didn't get in. There's nothing else I can do!"_

_"Don't say that, Kurt," she persisted and pleaded, "there's always something. Look at me!"_

_Rachel had opened her letter first; accepted, of course. Finn was next, and by some happy miracle he had been accepted into the Actors' Studio as well. Kurt was determined to make the trio three for three, until he began to read his letter._

_'Mr. Hummel, we regret to inform you..' _

_That's all it took. He hadn't read past that line; he couldn't. How could he be so stupid, so naive to think that he had a chance of beating out thousands of applicants for one of the twenty slots in the New York Academy of Dramatic Arts' Freshman class?_

_"It's not fair," he muttered, barely loud enough for even himself to hear._

_Rachel looked up at him, tears still running down her cheeks. "W-what?"_

_"It's not fair!" he yelled at her, wrenching himself out of her arms and away from his brother's reach. "I worked my tail off all year, I killed my audition, _the first time_, but you choked. You choked the first, the second, and the third times. But you're Rachel Berry, the girl the world bows on bended knee to, so you get all the second chances. You get all over the re-dos. You get everything you want, and it's not fair!"He snapped at Rachel, _what does she know about failure? She gets everything!

_"Woah," FInn spoke up, "dude, chill. It happens. You'll get it next time."_

There is no next time!, _he wanted to yell, but instead Kurt just glared at the couple before turning on his heel and stalking out the door. He hadn't talked to his brother or his best friend since._

"Rachel," he said, extracting himself from the small girl's arms, "w-what are you doing here?"

"I live here, silly!"

"Oh," he muttered, looking down at her, "I must have forgotten."

"It's okay," she assured him. "What are you doing here? Are you in college?"

"Uh no, actually, I uh-," he began before plastering a very satisfied smile on his face. "In fact, I work here."

"Oh," she said, "I'm still at NYADA, but I have been in a few small shows. Off-Broadway, mostly. What do you do? Costume? Design?" she asked him.

Kurt's smile just got a little bigger with each word she said. "No, Rachel, I'm an actor."

"Kurt, that's great!" she exclaimed. "What show? I simply must come see you!"

"Actually, I just closed a show two nights ago."

"Oh?" she sounded surprised. "Which one? Forgive me if I haven't heard of it, I don't know too much under Off-Broadway productions."

"_The Boy From Oz," _he stated simply.

"W-what?" she asked, her jaw dropping.

"Yes," he affirmed, "we just closed the revival at the Imperial Theatre."

She stood there staring at him, speechless.

"Well Rachel," he said, "as much fun as this little..thing has been, I really have to get going. I'm meeting some friends for lunch."

He turned to leave but not before she reached out and grabbed his arm, stopping him in his tracks.

"Wait!" she yelled. "I- Congratulations, Kurt. I'm glad your talent is finally being recognized."

"Thank you, Rachel."

"Uh," she said, kicking her feet at the ground and chewing on her bottom lip. "Kurt, could I- uh, maybe we could- here," she said, thrusting her iPhone into his hand. "Put your number in. I'd really like to catch up, Kurt. I feel so bad about what happened in high school and I really miss you."

He stared down at the phone in his hand, contemplating whether or not he was ready to move on and forgive her. Deep down he knew he had been somewhat childish, he supposed. He quickly tapped his number into her address book before he could change his mind, and handed the phone back over to her.

"Bye, Rachel."

As he turned to leave this time, his phone began to vibrate softly in his pocket. He pulled it out and stared down at the screen, furrowing his brow at the unfamiliar number. Sliding his thumb across the screen, he accepted the call. "Hello?"

"And now you have my number, too," he heard Rachel say.

He chuckled to himself before turning around and genuinely smiling at his ex-best friend. "Bye, Rachel," he said, hanging up the phone and walking to the registers to purchase his new outfits.

A full week had passed before Kurt heard anything from Rachel Berry again. It started with a simple text.

Kurt was washing dishes from his dinner the previous night, when the screen on his phone lights up and a soft vibrate causes it to come alive on his laminate countertops. He quickly dries off his hands and thumbs over the screen, opening his new message.

**From Rachel:** _I want you to be my date._

**From Kurt: **_I'm waiting for the punch line._

*Incoming call*

Kurt sighs to himself before accepting the call.

"Hello?" Kurt greets her.

"Please, Kurt," Rachel is practically begging, "I really need a date."

"Rachel," Kurt begins, "I know we haven't talked in a few years, but your memory cannot be that bad."

"Kurt."

"Fine then," he says, "let me refresh it for you: I'm gay."

"That is all the more reason for you to come with me!" she squeaks from her end of the line.

"Okay, I'll bite," he concedes. "Where do you need a date?"

"The New York Theatre Charity Millionaire Bachelor Auction."

"The what?" Kurt asks.

"It's a bachelor auction," she explains, "and all of the proceeds go to the underfunded local children's theaters in the city!"

"Why do you have to go to this?"

"I don't _have _to go," she admits, "but I want to. It's for charity, and who knows? Maybe I'll meet the one!"

"What happened to Finn?"

"Oh my gosh," she gasps, "don't tell me you don't even talk to your brother still?"

"Then I won't tell you."

"Kurt, we broke up seven months, one week, and three days after graduation," she says as if it's the most obvious thing ever, "I can't believe Burt or Carole didn't even tell you."

"Even though they weren't thrilled with my choice to cut you two out," he told her, "they still respected my decision and we went on with our lives."

"But he's your _brother_," she scolds him.

"You just said that," he deadpans. "Anyway, is there a reason you want _me _to accompany you?"

"I miss you."

"Okay..."

"And this would be the perfect opportunity to catch up," she explains. "We could get all dressed up and go fawn over cute boys, maybe even get a couple of phone numbers. It would be just like old times, Kurt!"

"Rachel, we never did those things."

"You are completely missing the point," she sighs.

"If I agree to be your date," he wonders out loud, "what all would that entail?"

"Oh, just attending with me," she states. "And being a perfect gentlemen and not stealing any of my bids."

He rolls his eyes, knowing full well that she can't see him. _As if any guy Rachel Berry is interested in would ever be my type._

"Fine," he agrees. "When is it?"

"Oh, thank you thank you thank you, Kurt!" she squeals. "It's tomorrow at seven! Don't worry about the location, just text me the address for your building and I'll swing by around five to pick you up!"

"Sounds peachy," he deadpanned.

"Okay, well I have to run!" she says. "I'll see you tomorrow, Kurt!"

With that the line dies and Kurt sets his phone on the kitchen counter. He quickly drops his head into his hands wondering what he has just gotten himself into.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Obviously, I own nothing you recognize.**

The following morning, Kurt wakes to a face full of shiny white fur. Malia had somehow managed to curl up right on top of his head and fall asleep, all without waking him in the process. He slowly extracted himself from between her paws, careful not to wake her, and turns to look at the clock on his nighstand. The clock shows that it is nearly noon. Groaning in frustration, he pushes himself out of bed and changed into sweat pants, a t-shirt, and sneakers for his ritual morning run.

Kurt ran a mile every morning, no exceptions. He had developed this habut as soon as he moved to New York. He had never been one for working-out, but staying in shape was important to him. As an actor, one that is now Broadway-level, image is a big deal. He has to look his best for performances, for promotions, for various events.

When Kurt had finally made it back to his apartment, it was nearing 12:30. He quickly made his way into his bathroom to shower and rinse off all the sweat and remnants of the night before.

Turning the dials in his shower to the right temperature and pressure, he immediately stripped down and climbed in. He carefully went through the motions of shampooing and conditioning his hair, washing his body amd climbing out, wrapping his hips in a fluffy towel. He moved to his bedroom and sat down at his vanity, taking his time with his moisturizing routine.

Kurt had planned to meet one of his friends from the cast of _The Boy from Oz _for lunch today, but since he woke up a little later than usual and had to meet Rachel at five he had to cancel. He still had to pick up his dry cleaning and call to confirm the time of an audition he had scheduled for the following week.

Hours later, Kurt was donning a sleek, black Vivienne Westwood with a small, white dove pendant on his collar. He was putting the final touches on his hair when his phone vibrated on the dressing table. He picked it up and swiped his thumb across the screen, seeing that he had a new text from Rachel.

**From Rachel: **_What building do you live in?_

**From Kurt: **_Wells apartments near midtown._

**From Rachel: **_Oh my gosh, Kurt! Those are so nice. Okay! I'll see you soon xoxo_

Kurt sighed in exasperation, wondering, not for the first time, just how he would handle being alone with Rachel Berry while she scoped out her next dating victim. _Alcohol,_ he though to himself, _lots and lots of alcohol._

He was waiting near the front door of his building, regaling his doorman with tales of his run on Broadway, when he saw Rachel walking towards him. He bid him farewell and made his way out the door to greet her.

She was wearing a short, pale cocktail dress with candy nude heels and a small, but glittery diamond necklace with matching earrings. _Well_, Kurt thought to himself, _she certainly has learned to dress better since high school. _

"Kurt!" she scurried over to him and pulled him into a tight hug. "You look fantastic!"

"You, too, Rachel," he said, "really, you look great."

"Thank you," she smiled brightly up at him, holding out her arm. "Shall we?"

He took the profferred arm and allowed her to lead the way to the hotel where the auction was being held.

"It's just a few blocks from your building, actually," she explained, "so we can just walk rather than hailing a cab or riding the subway tonight."

"Awesome," he replied.

"Kurt, it's going to be so much fun!" she squealed. "Just think of all the beautiful boys and the food and champagne!"

"Sounds like a blast, Rachel," he deadpanned.

Noticing his lack of interest, Rachel awkwardly shifted from one foot to the other. The continued the remaining three blocks to the hotel in silence. When the finally arrived, however, Rachel squealed again, bouncing on her feet. This time, she went as far as bouncing excitedly on her feet.

Entering the ballroom, Kurt could hardly keep his mouth closed. Everything was gorgeous: the walls, the floors, the decorations, and the guests who had all arrived were dressed to impress. He even noticed one woman wearing a [insert designer name here] dress that he knew was not available to the general public as of yet. This truly was a millionaire's auction.

Each table held one large, golden candle surrounded by a string of pearls sitting atop a shimmery and pristine white table cloth with gold patterns decorating the edge. The walls were all lined with white lillies and roses surrounded with even more burning candles. The stage that had been set up near the bottom of the grand staircase had sweeping, white linens hanging behind it creating a simple backdrop.

It wasn't long before Kurt heard somebody calling for Rachel from a few tables away. He turned his head to survey the stranger just as she scurried away to greet him herself.

"Max!" she squealed, jumping into his arms for a friendly hug. "How are you?"

Kurt noticed the man standing at the table was wearing Armani. _Good taste_, he thought. Taking in Rachel's friend, Kurt saw that he had the most beautiful blonde hair, clearly natural, with dark, chocolate brown eyes and a perfect smile.

"Rachel," he said, raking his eyes over her beautifully-dressed body, "I'm doing well. You look simply gorgeous."

"Thank you," she said as she smiled up at him.

Kurt walked over to the pair, not wanting to be left alone in such a large room full of strangers.

"Oh, Max," Rachel said, noticing Kurt had joined them, "this is my best friend, Kurt Hummel. Kurt, this is Maxwell Clarke . We go to NYADA together."

"Pleasure," Kurt greeted, politely holding his hand out for the other man to shake.

Max looked Kurt up and down but did not extend the same gesture. "I've seen you before," he greeted rather coldly. "You played Peter Allen. You missed a step in _Waltzing Matilda _and your voice faltered in the second chorus of _Come Save Me_," he commented. "I'm sure it was just an off-night, though," he added snidely, "it happens even to the best of us."

Kurt just stared back at Max, not entirely sure what to make of the man.

"Well Max," Rachel said, sensing that Kurt was becoming more and more uncomfortable under the scrutinizing gaze of her classmate, "I want to introduce Kurt to a few more people. I'll see you again soon, yes?"

He nodded briefly and kept his gaze on the pair.

"He's worse than Jesse St. James," Kurt muttered under his breath as he and Rachel walked away. "It's all beginning to make sense now."

"What was that?" Rachel asked him.

"Nothing," he bit out, tyring to keep his voice levelled.

Kurt met no less than a dozen of Rachel's classmates, a few of the volunteers at the theatre, and even one of Rachel's ex-boyfriends.

After making their rounds around the room, Kurt and Rachel chose a table near the front of the room, just off to the left of the stage. They had both procured a glass of champagne each and were sipping their drink as the lights dimmed slightly and the emcee appeared on the stage.

She couldn't have been more than thirty-five, Kurt noted to himself, with short, red hair and soft green eyes. She was wearing a short but elegant black dress complemented with a set of pearls.

"Good evening, ladies and gentlemen," she welcomed. "I am Tabitha Moore and I would like to welcome all of you to the New York City Children's Theatre Millionaire's Bachelor Auction."

The whole room erupted in applause, greeting their host as well as paying respect to the event itself. As soon as the applause died down and the room had fallen silent again, Tabitha began her speech.

"As you all know, all proceeds from tonight's auction will benefit the various children's theatres around the city," she began. "So please, bid generously," she added with a heartwarming smile.

After going through the formalities of the auction, she introduced the first bachelor. His name was Michael Williams and he was one of the directors for the children's theatre. Tabitha Moore introduced seven bachelors total. Each bachelor was introduced by relation to the theatre, age, education, and hobbies. After raising a full $21,000 on the first seven bachelors, a small break was announced in order to prepare for the second half of the program.

"Who is your favorite so far?" Rachel asked as she turned to face Kurt.

"Oh, I don't know," he replied, "I sort of liked the blonde costume designer."

"Personally," Rachel began, "none of them quite fit my high standards. I need to date somebody top notch if I'm going to be a Broadway star one day. You'll understand later, Kurt, but I can't be seen with just anyone. It will look bad for my image."

"Rachel, maybe you're forgetting," Kurt said, irritation apparent in his voice as he glared down at his friend, "but I just closed my first show _on Broadway_."

"Oh," she said. "It must have slipped my mind. We still need much higher class men to date, Kurt."

"That's awfully shallow."

"Look, I don't make the rules," she explained, "but if I am going to be a star I can't have some costume designer holding me back from reaching my full potential. I mean, what if casting offices heard about us dating and thought I wasn't good enough simply because I wasn't dating one of the more elite stars. You know, when I was dating Jesse St. James-"

"Okay, Rachel, just stop," Kurt demanded, cutting her off. "I am not here to listen to your elitest point-of-view. Let's just have fun and watch the rest of the auction, okay?"

Rachel shrugged next to Kurt but didn't open her mouth again. An uncomfortable silence settled between the pair while they waited for the program to resume.

When the emcee returned, she silenced the crowd quickly.

"And now to continue," her voice carried through the ballroom. "We are going to start this second half off in a different style. Each bachelor has prepared a talent of sorts to showcase to the room. I will let you get to know him a little bit before allowing him to take over the stage. And now to begin.."

Kurt's breath hitched in his throat when he saw the next bachelor descend the stairs. Gorgeous didn't quite cover this one. He had beautiful, dark brown curls, lightly tamed with a bit of product, piercing hazel eyes, and one of the most breathtaking smiles Kurt had seen in his twenty-one years.

"Our next bachelor is one of the volunteers at the theatre. At twenty-two years old, he is in his final semester at Columbia University, majoring in English with a minor in music production. In his free time he enjoys singing, songwriting, walking through Central Park, and attending various productions on Broadway. Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome Blaine Anderson."

**Reviews make me a happy writer and happy writers get chapters out sooner!**

**Also, I would like to thank my dear darling wonderful beta, Irene (froyo-morris on tumblr)!**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Hey guys! Thanks for reading! Sorry it takes me awhile to update, I know how frustrating that can be. I'm currently having computer problems and having to use my mom's laptop, so it will probably be even longer until the next update. I hope you stick with me! And I really hope you enjoy this chapter!**

**Also, I would like to point out that I have never been to a bachelor auction, but I do know a bit about a few local ones. If any of you have expertise and this is different from what you're used to, bear with me! I tried. **

****I do not own Glee, sadly.**

"...please welcome, Blaine Anderson."

Kurt's jaw dropped. The man descending the stairs was breathtakingly gorgeous. He had a head full of thick dark curls, gently tamed with gel. He had bright, hazel eyes and a smile so genuine and bright that it lit up the whole room. Kurt had never seen a man so beautiful.

One of the stagehands brought out a small wooden stool along with a microphone stand which Blaine promptly positioned himself in front of, accompanied with a guitar. He tilted his head slightly downwards, his eyes sweeping through the huge audience. He smiled shyly, and cleared his throat.

"Hi everybody," he greeted, "I'm Blaine, and I will be performing a song that means more to me than I care to explain tonight."

After briefly introducing himself, he shifted on the stool and turning his attention to his guitar. The room fell silent as he began strumming his guitar with the opening notes of the song.

_**Sometimes we fall down, can't get back up**_

_**We're hiding behind skin that's too tough**_

_**How come we don't say 'I love you' enough?**_

_**Till it's too late, it's not too late**_

Kurt gasped; Blaine's voice was breathtaking. His voice was smooth like he had done this before, but there was a hint of a roughness proving that it had been awhile since his last performance. Kurt had never heard anybody so naturally talented. He turned his head to gauge Rachel's reaction and saw that she was rendered speechless as well. He didn't even have to look to know every other patron was just as enthralled as he.

At the instrumental break of the song, the audience finally snapped out of their reverie. They clapped and cheered loudly, there were cat-calls and whistles coming from all sides of the room. Blaine beamed at the enthusiasm of the crown as he began to sing the next verses.

_**Our hearts are hungry for a food that won't come**_

_**And we could make a feast from these crumbs**_

_**And we're all staring down the barrel of a gun**_

_**So if your life flashed before you,**_

_**What would you wish you would've done?**_

_**Yeah, we gotta start**_

_**Looking at the hands of the time we've been given**_

_**If this is all we got and we gotta start thinking**_

_**If every second counts on a clock that's ticking**_

_**Gotta live like we're dying**_

Kurt let his eyes trail back up to the stage, amazed at this stunning man.

_**We only got 86,400 seconds in a day to**_

_**Turn it all around or to throw it all away**_

_**We gotta tell them that we love them**_

_**While we got the chance to say**_

_**Gotta live like we're dying**_

When Blaine looked back out at the crowd this time, his eyes met Kurt's. Another small smile stretched across Blaine's lips as he stared back at Kurt, not letting their gaze fall for the remainder of the song. When he had finished singing and was playing the final notes, the whole audience erupted in a loud round of applause causing Blaine's face to light up even more.

"Thank you," he whispered into the microphone. He stood up from his stool, still clutching his guitar close, and took a small bow before walking to stand closer to the emcee for the second part of tonight's event.

"Ladies and gentlemen," Moore called out as the crowd began to quiet down, "Blaine Anderson. Shall we start the bidding at $1000?"

An elder lady in the back of the room raised a small paddle.

"We have $1000," the emcee announced, "Can we get $1500?"

Another woman, around Kurt and Rachel's age, sitting at the table next to the pair raised her paddle.

"We have $1500, can we get $2000?"

This time, Rachel surprised Kurt and raised a small paddle in her own hand. Kurt turned in his seat to stare at her and saw a small blush growing on her cheeks as she refused to look back at him.

Kurt turned back around to look back up at the stage where Blaine was shifting awkwardly from foot to foot, obviously not used to being bought off. When he met Kurt's eyes again, however, he stood a little taller, a little more confidently. They exchanged smiles, but Kurt was surprised to see Blaine's gaze never left his own.

The bidding continued up to $10,000 when Rachel raised her paddle again. Blaine's smile faltered a bit which caused Kurt to make a snap decision as the emcee called for a bid higher than Rachel's.

"Fifteen thousand," Kurt called across the crowd. Every eye in the room turned to look at him. He could feel Rachel's nasty glare boring into the side of his head. He shrank back in his seat at the attention; he only half hoped he would be outbid.

"What a generous bid!" the emcee called. "Sold, to the man with the white dove in the front. Now, our next bachelor..."

Kurt stopped listening as he watched Blaine step off the stage and begin walking towards him. He could feel Rachel pulling on the sleeve of his jacket. Swatting her hand away, he stood up to greet the man who had just reached the table.

Before Kurt could say anything, Blaine held a hand out. "My name's Blaine."

"Kurt."

"It's nice to meet you, Kurt," Blaine whispered. "Why don't we… uh..." he tilted his head towards the doorway.

"Right, yes," Kurt said quietly, "let me just stop by the table at the front to, uh, pay for you? I guess... Wow, that sounds terrible. You're not property, this whole thing, wow, it's finally all settling with me and it's actually really unsettling I can't believe it-"

"Kurt," Blaine cut him off, "it's okay. It's all for charity, and it's not forever, remember?"

"Right..."

Rachel cleared her throat from behind the two, clearly irritated at being forgotten.

Kurt turned around and saw her glaring at him, one eyebrow raised in annoyance.

"Oh," Kurt said, "Blaine, this is my, uh, friend, Rachel. Rachel, this is Blaine."

Blaine held out his hand causing Rachel to forget all past grievances and smile brightly at her friend before turning to Blaine and holding out her own.

"It's a pleasure to meet you," she greeted.

Blaine pulled her hand up to his lips, kissing it softly. "The pleasure is all mine," he smiled back.

"So uh," Kurt started, "we're just gonna go. You'll be alright, Rachel?"

She nodded at her friend before turning back to the stage and watching the rest of the current bachelor's performance of "Chasing Pavements" by Adele.

Kurt held out his arm for Blaine, who quickly latched on and allowed himself to be lead out to the door. Before leaving, Kurt wrote his payment information down on a slip of paper and handed it to an auction official behind the tables in the lobby.

Once out in the New York City streets, Kurt turned to Blaine and asked teasingly, "So what will this grand date entail?"

Blaine stared at Kurt for a second before remembering where the two had just come from. "Oh, right," Blaine finally said, looking extremely uncomfortable. He stared down at his feet and starting playing with his thumbs awkwardly. "Actually, I uh planned to, erh.. I sort of planned for a, uhm, girl."

"Oh," Kurt sounded hurt.

"Kurt, I-"

"No," Kurt cut him off, "it's okay. I should have just let Rachel win. You're straight. I just thought- not a big deal, though. It's alright, it was all for charity. Just, uh, have a nice night, Blaine." He turned to walk towards his apartment when he felt a hand close around his arm.

"Kurt, wait," Blaine pleaded. "I just have to rethink it, is all? This is actually better; we'll have much more fun than I would have with Rachel or any of those other women."

Kurt stared at Blaine in confusion. When he didn't respond, Blaine continued.

"The only reason I did this whole thing was because my parents insisted," he explained. "They are big investors at the different children's theatres around the city because they say it looks good or something, I don't know. They thought maybe if I did this I could be the 'meet a nice girl and finally settle down, Blaine,' and I was kind of hesitant, all things considered. I planned this big night of carriage horses and chick flicks. I arrived tonight and saw all these desperate-looking middle-aged women and I just wanted to get through the night, but then you were there and you were looking like that and you were smiling at me and I thought maybe but you looked so disinterested during the bidding and I got kind of excited when Rachel bid because she looked the most normal (Kurt huffed out a laugh at that one) but then you bid and it was so much and I-"

"Blaine," Kurt said, finally deciding to calm Blaine down. "Can I get the short version?"

Blaine just stared back at Kurt for a minute before feeling his cheeks heat up. He looked down at his shuffling feet again. When he looked back up, he met Kurt's eyes and let out a tiny whisper.

"I'm gay."

Kurt let out a small laugh in relief. "I am too," he admitted.

"I figured as much," Blaine told him, finally meeting the other man's eyes.

"Am I that obvious?" Kurt sighed.

"No!" Blaine all but yelled. "I mean. I really wasn't sure, to be honest. Until you bid on me. Most guys won't bid. On a bachelor. At a bachelor auction," Blaine stammered, his face heating up.

Kurt stood for a minute, taking the other man in. Blaine was shuffling his feet slightly, clearly uncomfortable with the silence that had befallen the two men. It was he that finally broke the silence.

"Well, Kurt," he began, holding out his arm for the man to take, "would you accompany me on a short walk to a super secret location for a date in which I will charm your pants off?"

"Oh, so you _do_ only want to get in my pants," Kurt quipped, a smirk on his face.

"What?" Blaine sputtered. "No, I- it's just an expression, I didn't mean-"

"Blaine," Kurt cut him off. "I was joking."

"Oh," Blaine said, sighing in relief.

"I would love to," Kurt finally said, taking Blaine's previously offered arm in his own and smiling at the other man. "Where to?"

"Like I said," Blaine told him, "it's a surprise."

With that Blaine began to lead Kurt down the street, the pair walking in comfortable silence.

**Reviews make for happy kitties!**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Hey readers! If you're still reading this, thank you! If you're new, I hope you enjoy reading this as much as I'm enjoying writing it! I have had a lot of problems thrown at me in the last couple of weeks which have hindered my writing process, but I'm working on getting them all under control so I can write more. I hope you enjoy this chapter **

****I do not own Glee. If I did, Kurt would get everything. But, alas, Ryan Murphy holds the key to the Glee world. If only..**

"So, Kurt," Blaine prompted as the pair continued down the street, "what brings you to a bachelor auction?"

"You mean who," Kurt said dryly. "Rachel asked me to be her 'date' and wouldn't accept no for an answer."

"Hmm."

"What?" Kurt asked him, quirking an eyebrow at the other man.

"I was just wondering," Blaine started, "why you outbid her?"

"I hardly know you but I already know that you are too nice of a guy to have to endure a whole night with Rachel Berry on your arm, gay or not."

"Surely she's not _that_ bad."

"I've known her since we were in high school," Kurt explained.

"But if she's so bad then why are you still friends?" Blaine asked curiously.

"We're not," Kurt said quickly. "I mean, we were; back then. Honestly, things happened between us and I haven't talked to her since graduation, not until just a few days ago." There was a small hint of regret in Kurt's voice, but it was mostly laced with annoyance and a subtle implication of 'can_-we-please-change-the-subject-now?'_

Blaine hummed in response, picking up on Kurt's discomfort at the topic. He lead Kurt a block further before turning down a dark alley, only lit by a single bulb hanging loosely over a weak, wooden door. A small sign was barely hanging on to the wall, too worn and dirty to decipher the words printed on the metal. Blaine reached his hand out for the door, jiggling the handle a bit before he cracked it open.

"Uh, Blaine…?" Kurt said, clearly apprehensive. "Should I be scared?"

"What?" Blaine said, turning around to look at Kurt. "Oh! No! Come on, you'll see." With that he gestured for Kurt to enter before him, which the other man did so reluctantly.

Kurt's jaw dropped. '_Blaine seems to have that effect on me quite often_,' he thought to himself. He had expected to walk into a dark room filled with cobwebs and rats and god knows what else. However, Kurt found himself standing in the middle of a 1970's-style Karaoke bar.

There were neon lights flashing through the otherwise dimly-lit room, a small dance floor had been cleared near an even smaller stage, and a long bar ran along the wall with brightly-colored, plastic-covered bar stools sitting a few inches apart. Various tables were scattered around the room, each with a pair of overly-large dice playing as the center piece.

"Wow," Kurt breathed out. He had never seen anything like it.

Blaine was staring at Kurt, gauging his reaction. A small smile played at his lips when he saw the mesmerizing look on the other man's face. He smirked just slightly when he realized just how blown away Kurt was.

"Do you like it?" Blaine asked, knowing too-well the answer.

"Blaine, this is amazing."

"Come on," Blaine said, holding out his hand, "I want to introduce you to somebody."

Kurt timidly took Blaine's hand and allowed himself to be lead to the bar. He sat himself upon one of the stools and watched as Blaine called the bartender. When he saw who it was, however, his jaw dropped yet again.

"_Santana!?" _he gasped.

"Hummel?" she responded. "What are you doing here?"

"Wait," Blaine spoke up, clearly confused. "You two know each other?"

Santana waved him off and kept her attention on Kurt. "Damn boy," she said, "you look good. Did you finally get into that school with Berry, then?"

"Not exactly," Kurt said. "I found something even better and I'm sticking with it," he told her proudly.

"Well at least you're getting some ass finally," Santana said, nodding her head at Blaine, "Lord knows you could use it after McKinley, even if it is in the form of this obnoxious hobbit. Good for you, Porcelain."

Kurt could feel his face heating up as he blanched slightly at her words, but let them brush off his shoulder. It was Blaine who spoke up next.

"Well, I really just wanted to introduce the two of you, but it looks like you already know each other," he said, "but if you don't mind, San, I'm going to take my date to a table where you won't be harassing me all night." He winked at her and she pushed him off his barstool.

"Good to see you, Santana," Kurt said politely before turning to face Blaine. He grasped Kurt's arm again and began steering him away when-

"Hummel, wait!" Santana called. He turned around to see her quickly scribbling something on a bar napkin. She thrust it into his hand and said, "Call me sometime. We'll catch up." She smiled sweetly at him and he nodded at her, turning back to Blaine.

"So, Ohio, huh?" Blaine said after the two had sat down.

"What?" Kurt asked, confused.

"I'm assuming you know Santana from high school," Blaine explained, "and since I know she's from Ohio.." he left the sentence open.

"Oh, right," Kurt said, "we were in glee club together."

"You sing?"

"A bit," he said with a smug look on his face.

At this, a waitress came to the table for their drink orders. She quickly scribbled the orders onto a pad and walked off, back into the kitchen.

"So you sing," Blaine repeated, "what else do you do? Tell me everything, Kurt Hummel."

"Uh, I don't know," Kurt trailed off.

"There has to be something. Why did you come to New York?"

"I've always wanted to come to New York," Kurt explained. "It was just a matter of when. I found an amazing job and here I am. Not much to the story."

"What do you do?"

"What?"

"You said you found a job," Blaine explained, "So what do you do?"

"Oh," Kurt said, understanding. "I'm an actor."

"Anything I would have heard of?" Blaine asked, genuinely interested.

"Nothing right now," Kurt replied, "I just closed a show and have some time off."

"What show?"

"_The Boy from Oz _revival at the Imperial Theatre."

This time it was Blaine's jaw that dropped. "No way! I tried to get tickets to see that but every show was sold out! What role were you?"

Their waitress returned with their drinks, and Blaine waved her off politely saying they needed more time to decide on their order. When she retreated back into the kitchen again, Blaine was still staring at Kurt in amazement.

Kurt took a small sip of his sweet tea before saying quietly, "Peter Allen," and raising his glass to his lips a second time, a smirk pulling at the corners of his mouth.

Blaine gaped at the man sitting across from him. "You're on _Broadway_?" he exclaimed disbelievingly.

Kurt simply grinned and nodded his head slightly.

"Alright," Blaine said, taking a sip of his water before continuing, "who did you have to kill to get that part and where can I find him?"

Kurt laughed at that. He could hear the teasing undertone in Blaine's voice and couldn't help but grin even wider. He was beginning to really like this guy.

"I just got very, very lucky," Kurt said, "like lottery-winner lucky."

"How'd you get it?" Blaine asked.

"I was working at a small theatre in Columbus, and on the one night a talent scout from New York was passing through with family, the lead for our current show fell ill and I had to step in for him. Apparently, the scout wasn't expecting to enjoy the show at all, but my 'unique vocal style,' his words not mine, caused me to stand out among others. After the show he came backstage and offered me a job, but I never expected it to be Broadway-big. I keep pinching myself to make sure this isn't all a dream."

"Wow," Blaine barely whispered, "I am so jealous right now."

At this point, their waitress came back over to their table to take their orders. When she had them both scribbled on her notepad, she walked away to ring them in. Blaine spent the whole time staring at Kurt's profile, taking the other man in.

This was the first time Blaine was allowed to fully take in the other man, and he was in awe. He noticed perfectly smooth skin, high cheek bones with a tinge of pink. He couldn't decide whether Kurt's eyes were blue or green or grey, they seemed to change under the lighting. His hair was styled beautifully, not a lock out of place. It was as Blaine was admiring Kurt's long neck and the way his hand kept grasping it that he noticed Kurt had been talking to him.

"W-what?" Blaine asked, snapping himself out of his reverie.

"I asked where you're from," Kurt said, "or have you always lived in New York?"

"Oh no," Blaine replied, "I actually grew up in Ohio as well. Westerville."

"Seriously?" Kurt responded, clearly surprised. "I'm from Lima. We grew up less than two hours from each other!"

"It would appear so," Blaine chuckled.

"Where did you go to school?" Kurt asked.

"Dalton Academy."

"Oh yes, the boys with the blazers," Kurt said sounding highly amused. "We competed against your glee club my junior and senior years."

"You were in Glee?"

"Every year since sophomore year," Kurt sing-songed "That's actually where I met Rachel. And Santana, for that matter, why?"

"I was the lead soloist of the Warblers my junior and part of my senior year!" Blaine exclaimed. "We competed against each other!"

Kurt and Blaine continued getting to know each other. Kurt learned that Blaine had been playing guitar since he was nine, and in turn supplied the information that his mother died when he was very young. They talked about what life was like for the both of them back in Ohio and how they are both incredibly relieved to be rid of that place.

It wasn't long before Santana was strutting across the small stage set in the back of the room, stripped of her bartender outfit, replaced with a short, black dress and four-inch heels.

"It is Karaoke time!" she called through the microphone. "So everybody get off your lazy asses and come sing something upbeat and fun so the rest of us can dance."

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